the ap is reporting that the white house and gop leaders have reached a deal on the fiscal cliff. the vote on the measure will be the next step followed by action by the u.s. house of representatives. in a return on tuesday at noon th eastern.e ut senar f senatef iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president, in the last few decades, real middle-class families in america -- i say real middle-class, making $30,000, $440,000, not $400,000 a year, have steen season their jobs being more insecure, their wages stagnate, in fact, their income adjusted for inflation is less than it was in the late 1990's. their savings and pensions have shrunk or disappeared, the cost of education has soared, at the same time the wealthiest americans and large corporations grow ever richer and pay less and less in taxes. for example, take dividends. prior to 2003, dividends were always taxed as ordinary income. but now they're taxed at a less rate, at the capital gains rate. income of hedge fund managers are taxed at a lower rate than middle-class families, so-called carry interest rule. the share of our nation's weal